Systems and methods for communicating events to users

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for distributing an audio/visual feed of events include mixing audio signals, from microphones monitoring the event, with sound board feed from the event public address system, thereby forming a mixed audio signal. A video input signal is received at each video input in one or more video inputs at a video board from one or more corresponding cameras recording the event. A video input signal is selected as the video board output and is combined with the mixed audio signal thereby producing an audio/visual signal. This signal is encoded using a video codec, at each of several bitrates, and an audio codec, thereby forming bitrate streams each comprising the video portion of the audio/visual signal at a unique bitrate. The streams are received by a satellite router and transmitted to a satellite which sends them to one or more downlink servers for Internet distribution.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/725,421, filed Nov. 12, 2012, entitled “Systems and Methods forCommunicating a Live Event to Users Using the Internet.”

This application also claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/078,298, filed Nov. 12, 2013, entitled “Systems and Methods forCommunicating a Live Event to Users Using the Internet.”

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to systems and methods fordistributing an audio/visual feed of a live event.

BACKGROUND

A central goal of the organizers and producers of a live event, such asa concert, is to get the content of the live event distributed to a wideaudience. Aside from assuring sufficient financial compensation to makethe live event commercially feasible, the most fundamental measure ofthe success of the live event is how many people participated in,viewed, or listened to the live event. In this vein, a live event heardor viewed by 10,000 or 100,000 people is generally considered moresuccessful than one that is heard or viewed by one hundred or fewerpeople.

Ever since the advent of radio and later television, live eventbroadcasting has extended the audience of live events beyond those whoare physically present at the live event. While radio and televisionbroadcasting has proven adequate in many instances, they also havedrawbacks. Radio lacks the visual aspect, and thus fails to drawparticipants into the live event in the manner that television can.Television, on the other hand, while visually compelling, is expensivefor both the organizers and producers of the live event, who must payroyalty fees, access fees, or other types of fees to televisionbroadcasters, and the viewers, who typically must pay subscription feesfor anything beyond the most limited set of television signals that arebroadcasted without scrambling. Television broadcasting is furtherdisadvantaged by the expense and bulk of the equipment that must be usedat the live event to actually broadcast the signal.

The advent of the Internet has led to a third possible way ofdistributing live events. There are now a huge range of Internetconnected devices available which are capable of high quality videoplayback. These include laptops and home media centers, smartphones suchas the APPLE iPHONE, Blueray devices and gaming consoles. These devicesare typically connected to un-managed access networks such as 3G, homenetworks and WiFi hot spots. In accordance with the Internetdistribution approach, cameras and microphones can be used to record thelive event. These video and audio signals can then be encoded by any ofa number of codecs and distributed on the Internet. While this approachin theory is attractive, a number of drawbacks are inherent to thisapproach. First, this approach assumes that there is a distributionserver hard wired to the live event venue. This is typically not thecase. In typical instances, the most that organizers and producers of alive event can rely upon at the live event venue is a stable source ofpower and light. Thus, if distribution of the live event over theInternet is desired, a satellite uplink is required. The cost for such asatellite uplink is decreasing on a daily basis and thus this drawbackto Internet access is dissipating. However, a much more significantdrawback with Internet distribution is beginning to unfold as usersmigrate from use of desktops, which are hardwired to the Internet, toportable devices that communicate with the Internet using wirelesscommunication protocols at constantly varying signal strengths. Becauseof these constantly varying signal strengths, conventional Internetbroadcasts of live events will typically be unsatisfactory. If a highresolution bitrate is selected for encoding the live event, users havinglow signal strength will incur unreasonable pauses as they wait for thelive event to stream onto their mobile device. If a low resolutionbitrate is selected for encoding the live event, users, regardless oftheir signal strength quality, will at best view a grainy low resolutionvideo feed of the live event, with tinny or otherwise inadequate sound.Moreover, consider the case in which a user is traveling and thus, atsome points in time has a high bandwidth connection, whereas at othertimes has a low bandwidth connection. In such instance, neither the lownor the high resolution bitrate is suitable all the time. At least someof the time the resolution of the video feed will not be suboptimal orwill take too long to download, leading to pauses and destroying anyappreciation for the live event.

Given the above background, what is needed in the art are systems andmethods for distributing high quality video and audio feed of liveevents over the Internet in a cost effective manner using portableequipment that relies solely on the resources that can be expected at alive event venue.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure addresses the drawbacks for distributing highquality video and audio feed of live events over the Internet in a costeffective manner. Rather than attempting to encode video feed from thelive event at a single bitrate, an embodiment of the present disclosureencodes the live event with a high quality version of video from thelive event and encodes multiple copies of it using a codec such asMPEG-4 H.264. These copies are at various bitrates and resolutionsranging from lower quality renditions appropriate for slower wirelessconnections, up to extremely high quality renditions suitable for fastdevices on fast networks. The renditions are then wrapped into atransport stream such as the MPEG-2 transport streams (“bitratestreams”) and segmented into segments (e.g., ten second segments). Thesesegments are then broadcasted using a satellite uplink router configuredto receive the bitrate streams using an HTTP protocol and transmit themto a satellite for distribution to one or more downlink servers fordistribution on the Internet. These bitrate streams are streamed to anend device. Examples of end devices include, but are not limited to, avideo player (e.g. HTML 5 player) on a mobile device (e.g., over a 3Gconnection), a browser or a set-top box. Because the player receives thevideo in discrete segments and can detect the quality of the networkconnection, it can switch to a higher or lower quality video segmentbetween segments if bandwidth conditions change. Depending on theselections of the user of the end device, the end device can be used toplay the downloaded bitrate stream contemporaneously with the live eventor at some later time. If played at some later time, the bitrate streamcan be stored on the end device.

Now that an overview of the present disclosure has been presented, moredetailed embodiments are described which, in addition to providing forimproved sound, also provide for higher quality experience than simpleuse of adaptive bitrate streaming. Moreover, the disclosed furtherdetails have the advantage that they provide a high quality experienceusing a simple set of rack mounted equipment. As such, the disclosedsystems and methods provide for enhanced visual feed over the Internetwithout reliance on excessive audio/visual equipment. The disclosedsystems and methods are portable and do not rely upon resources thatwill not realistically be available at a live event venue.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a portable system fordistributing an audio/visual feed of a live event (e.g., a concert, aspeech, a rally, a protest, or an athletic game or contest). Theportable system comprises a first ambient microphone positioned at afirst location relative to the live event (e.g., on a first side of thelive event) and a second ambient microphone positioned at a secondlocation relative to the live event (e.g., on a second side of the liveevent). The portable system further comprises a sound mixer. The soundmixer is configured to receive and mix together (i) a first ambientaudio signal from the first ambient microphone, (ii) a second ambientaudio signal from the second ambient microphone, and (iii) a sound boardfeed from a public address system associated with the live event (e.g.,the event producer's switcher), thereby forming a mixed audio signal.The portable system further comprises a plurality of video cameraspositioned and configured to record the live event.

The portable system further comprises a video board comprising aplurality of video inputs. Each respective video input in the pluralityof video inputs receives a video input signal from a corresponding videocamera in the plurality of video cameras. The video board furthercomprises a selection mechanism for selecting the video input signalreceived by a video input in the plurality of video inputs as a videooutput from the video board. The portable system further comprises arecorder. The recorder comprises (i) an audio input for receiving themixed audio signal from the sound mixer and (ii) a video input forreceiving the video output from the video board. The recorder isconfigured to combine the mixed audio signal with the video output fromthe video board, thereby producing an audio/visual signal. The recorderis configured to output the audio/visual signal. In some embodiments,the audio/visual signal is a composite serial digital interface signal.In other embodiments the audio/visual signal is a signal in some otherformat.

The portable system further comprises an encoder having an input portfor receiving the audio/visual signal. The encoder encodes theaudio/visual signal using (i) a first video codec at each of a firstplurality of bitrates and (ii) a first audio codec, thereby forming afirst plurality of bitrate streams. Each respective bitrate stream inthe first plurality of bitrate streams comprises the video portion ofthe audio/visual signal encoded at a corresponding bitrate in the firstplurality of bitrates by the first video codec. The portable systemfurther comprises a satellite uplink router configured to receive thefirst plurality of bitrate streams using an HTTP protocol, and transmitthe first plurality of bitrate streams to a satellite for distributionto one or more downlink servers for distribution on the Internet.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method fordistributing an audio/visual feed of a live event. The method comprisesmixing together (i) a first ambient audio signal from a first ambientmicrophone monitoring the live event, (ii) a second ambient audio signalfrom a second ambient microphone monitoring the live event, and (iii) asound board feed from a public address system associated with the liveevent, thereby forming a mixed audio signal. In some embodiments, morethan two ambient audio signals (e.g., three or more, four or more, fiveor more, etc.) are combined with the sound board feed to form the mixedaudio signal. The method further comprises receiving a respective videoinput signal at each respective video input in a plurality of videoinputs at a video board from a corresponding camera in a plurality ofvideo cameras. The plurality of video cameras are positioned andconfigured to record the live event. The method further comprisesselecting a video input signal received by a video input in theplurality of video inputs as a video output from the video board andthen receiving the mixed audio signal at an audio input of a recorder.The method further comprises receiving the video output from the videoboard at a video input of the recorder and combining, at the recorder,the mixed audio signal with the video output thereby producing anaudio/visual signal. In some embodiments, the audio/visual signal isformatted as a composite serial digital interface signal. In otherembodiments, the audio/visual signal is formatted in some other format.The method further comprises receiving the audio/visual signal at anencoder and encoding, at the encoder, the audio/visual signal using (i)a first video codec at each of a plurality of bitrates and (ii) a firstaudio codec, thereby forming a first plurality of bitrate streams. Eachrespective bitrate stream in the first plurality of bitrate streamscomprises the video portion of the audio/visual signal encoded at acorresponding bitrate in the first plurality of bitrates by the firstvideo codec. The method further comprises receiving the first pluralityof bitrate streams at a satellite uplink router using an HTTP protocoland transmitting, using the satellite uplink router, the first pluralityof bitrate streams to a satellite for distribution to one or moredownlink servers for distribution on the Internet.

In some embodiments, the first ambient audio signal is amplified fromthe first ambient microphone with a first pre-amplifier prior to themixing and the second ambient audio signal from the second ambientmicrophone is amplified with a second pre-amplifier prior to the mixing.In some embodiments, the first ambient audio signal from the firstpre-amplifier and the second ambient audio signal from the secondpre-amplifier is further amplified with an amplifier prior to themixing. In some embodiments, the amplifier is further configured toconcurrently (i) compress the first ambient audio signal from the firstpre-amplifier in accordance with one or more compression parametersbefore the first ambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer,and (ii) compress the second ambient audio signal from the secondpre-amplifier in accordance with one or more compression parametersbefore the second ambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer.In some embodiments, the one or more compression parameters comprise theset of parameters threshold, compression ratio, attack time, and releasetime.

In some embodiments, the video input signal from a video camera in theplurality of video cameras is a video serial digital interface signal.In some embodiments, the video input signal from a video camera in theplurality of video cameras is an HDMI signal, and the method furthercomprises converting the HDMI signal to a video serial digital interfacesignal prior to the receiving step. In some embodiments, the selectingstep, in which a video signal from among the plurality of camerasrecording the live event is chosen, comprises displaying a plurality ofpanels on a touch-screen display, where each respective panel in theplurality of panels displays a respective video input signal received bya corresponding video input in the plurality of video inputs, andreceiving a selection of a first panel in the plurality of panels,thereby selecting the video input signal displayed by the first panel.

In some embodiments, method further comprises using the video board toadjust the selected video input signal to one of a plurality ofpredetermined resolutions. In some embodiments, the plurality ofpredetermined resolutions comprises 1920×1080i 60, 1920×1080i 59.94,1920×1080i 50, 1280×720p 60, 1280×720p 59.94 and 1280×720p 50. In someembodiments, the selecting step comprises wiping or transitioningbetween (i) a first video input signal that was previously selected atthe video board and (ii) a second video input signal that is currentlyselected as the video board.

In some embodiments, the composite serial digital interface signal is ahigh definition serial digital interface signal. In some embodiments,the first video codec is H.264. In some embodiments, the first audiocodec is advanced audio coding (AAC). In some embodiments, the firstplurality of bitrate streams is stored in one or more video containers(e.g., an MP4, 3GP, or 3G2 container). In some embodiments, the firstplurality of bitrate streams are configured for adaptive bitratestreaming, and the method further comprises downloading the firstplurality of bitrate streams of the live event with a downlink serverconfigured to serve the first plurality of bitrate streams to a firstplurality of client devices using a first adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol. In some embodiments, a client device in the first plurality ofclient devices is an APPLE iPAD or APPLE iPHONE. In some embodiments, aclient device in the first plurality of client devices implementsInternet Explorer 9.0 or greater, SAFARI 3.0 or greater, or ANDROID 2.0or greater. In some embodiments, the first adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol is ADOBE dynamic streaming for ADOBE FLASH. In someembodiments, the first adaptive bitrate streaming protocol is APPLE HTTPadaptive streaming. In some embodiments, the first plurality of bitratestreams is served using HTML 5. In some embodiments, the transmittingstep transmits the first plurality of bitrate streams to the satelliteusing a TCP or UDP protocol.

In some embodiments, the encoding further encodes the audio/visualsignal using (i) a second video codec at each of a second plurality ofbitrates and (ii) a second audio codec, thereby forming a secondplurality of bitrate streams. Each respective bitrate stream in thesecond plurality of bitrate streams comprises the video portion of theaudio/visual signal encoded at a corresponding bitrate in the secondplurality of bitrates by the second video codec. The second plurality ofbitrate streams are received at the satellite uplink router using anHTTP protocol concurrent to when the first plurality of bitrate streamsis received. The second plurality of bitrate streams are transmitted,using the satellite uplink router, to the satellite for distribution toone or more downlink servers for concurrent distribution of the firstand second plurality of bitrate streams on the Internet. In someembodiments, the first plurality of bitrate streams is configured for afirst adaptive bitrate streaming protocol and the second plurality ofbitrate streams is configured for a second adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol and the method further comprises concurrently (i) downloadingthe first plurality of bitrate streams of the live event and serving thefirst plurality of bitrate streams to a first plurality of clientdevices using the first adaptive bitrate streaming protocol and (ii)downloading the second plurality of bitrate streams of the live eventand serving the second plurality of bitrate streams to a secondplurality of client devices using the second adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol. In this way, client devices that do not support the sameadaptive bitrate streaming protocols and/or codecs can concurrentlyreceive one or more bitrate streams of the live event. For example, insome such embodiments, a client device in the first plurality of clientdevices is an APPLE iPAD or APPLE iPHONE, a client device in the secondplurality of client devices implements Internet Explorer 9.0 or greater,the first adaptive bitrate streaming protocol is APPLE HTTP adaptivestreaming, and the second adaptive bitrate streaming protocol is ADOBEdynamic streaming for FLASH. In some embodiments, the method furthercomprises serving the first plurality of transmitted bitrate streams andthe second plurality of transmitted bitrate streams using HTML5. In someembodiments, the first and second plurality of bitrate streams are eachtransmitted to the satellite using a TCP or UDP protocol. In someembodiments, the first and second audio codec is the same. In someembodiments, the first and second plurality of bitrate streams are eachstored in a video container (e.g., 3GP, or 3G2).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example, andnot by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout thedrawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a portable system fordistributing an audio/visual feed of a live event, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example process for a portablesystem for distributing an audio/visual feed of a live event, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating downlink server 134, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a client device 138, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a satellite uplink router 126,according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for distributing anaudio/visual feed of a live event (e.g., a concert, a speech, a rally, aprotest, an athletic game, or a contest). The audio/visual feed includesa mixed audio signal comprising a mixture of ambient audio signals, fromambient microphones monitoring the live event, and sound board feed fromthe live event public address system. The combination of the ambientnoise, which includes audience noise, and the dry sound board signalfrom the public address system provides a rich sound that gives thelistener a sense that they are actually attending the live event.

To complete the audio/visual feed, video signals are received at eachvideo input in a plurality of video inputs at one or more video boardsfrom corresponding cameras recording the event. One of the video inputsignals in the audio/visual feed is selected as the video board output.Ultimately, the video board output is combined with the mixed audiosignal to form the audio/visual feed. Typically, at any given moment,the choice of which of the video input signals is selected as the outputsignal is determined by which camera is currently getting the best orpreferred picture of the “action” at the live event. Further, in typicalembodiments, this video signal selection is performed using the judgmentand selection of a human operator of selection equipment associated withthe video board. In other embodiments, this video signal selection isperformed without human intervention. For instance, in some embodiments,in one embodiment each of the video inputs is successively selected asthe output signal in round robin, or some other repeating, fashion.

The selected video board output is combined with the mixed audio signalthereby producing an audio/visual signal. The audio/visual signal isencoded using a video codec, at each of several bitrates, and an audiocodec (optionally at several different bitrates too), thereby formingseveral bitrate streams each of which comprises the video portion of theaudio/visual signal at a unique bitrate. The bitrate streams arereceived by one or more satellite routers and transmitted to a satellitewhich sends them to one or more downlink servers for Internetdistribution.

Advantageously, the disclosed systems and methods make use of portableequipment that does not exceed the available resources of a live eventforum. That is, advantageously, the disclosed systems and methods do notrequire direct access to high speed internet at the site of the liveevent (the live event forum). Nor do the disclosed systems and methodsrequire a truckload of expensive equipment associated with the broadcastof satellite television in order to distribute the live event. Moreover,because the live event is encoded at several different bitrates,adaptive bitrate streaming can be used to communicate the live event todevices that have disparate connectively quality of service (QOS) suchthat those devices that have excellent connectivity QOS request abitrate stream that encodes the live event at a high bitrate and thosedevices that have reduced connectivity QOS request a bitrate stream thatencodes the live event at a lower bitrate.

Now that an overview of the systems and methods have been disclosed, aportable system 100 for distributing an audio/visual feed of a liveevent 102 is disclosed in further detail with reference to FIG. 1. Afirst ambient microphone 104 is positioned at a first position relativeto the live event (e.g., on a first side of the live event). A secondambient microphone 106 is positioned at a second position relative tothe live event (e.g., on a second side of the live event). In someembodiments, additional microphones (not shown) are positioned relativeto the live event.

Non-limiting examples of suitable microphones 104/106 in accordance withsome embodiments of the present disclosure are the NEUMANN U87 Ai/SETZ,TLM-102, TLM 49, TLM 103, KMS 105 MT, and TLM-102 microphones.Non-limiting suitable microphones also include phantom-powered condensermicrophones.

A sound mixer 108 is configured to receive and mix together (i) a firstambient audio signal from the first ambient microphone 104, (ii) asecond ambient audio signal from the second ambient microphone 106, and(iii) a sound board feed from a public address system 110 associatedwith the live event, thereby forming a mixed audio signal. In someembodiments, there are more than two ambient microphones that are mixedby sound mixer 108 (e.g., three or more, four or more, etc.). Moreover,it will be appreciated that more than one sound mixer 108 can be used toaccomplish this mixing task and such configurations are within the scopeof the present disclosure. Nonlimiting examples are the MACKIE 802-VLZ38-Channel Analog Audio Mixer, the SAMSON Audio L1200 Live12-Channel/4-Bus Mixing Console, the SAMSON Audio L2400 Live12-Channel/4-Bus Mixing Console, the MACKIE ONYX 1640i-16-channel/4-busPremium Firewire Recording Mixer, the BEHRINGER Sx2442fx Pro Audio Dj Pa24 Input 4 Bus Studio Live, the ALLEN & HEATH Mix Wizard 3 14:4 SoundReinforcement Audio Mixer, the BEHRINGER EURODESK SX3242FX Audio Mixer,the MACKIE 2404-VLZ3 24-Channel 4 Buss Recording/Live Audio Mixer, andthe PROEL M16usb Audio Mixer, to name a few. In some embodiments, thesound mixer 108 is lightweight and portable so that it can be easilytransported to the live event.

In some embodiments, the public address system 110 is not part of theportable system 100. Rather, the public address system 110 is acollection of microphones and other audio equipment that is designed tocapture the sound of one or more of the performers of the live event.For instance, in some instances, the public address system includes aseparate microphone for each of the performers of the live event. Insome instances, the live event is a music concert and the public addresssystem includes a microphone or audio feed for each of the musicinstruments used at any given time during the concert. The publicaddress system 110 is distinguished over ambient microphones 104 and 106in that the ambient microphones are intended to capture, at least inpart, sound made by the live event audience physically attending thelive event in addition to the performers of the live event whereas thepublic address system 110 is intended to capture the performers of thelive event 102 rather than the live event audience.

As seen in FIG. 1, there is a plurality of video cameras 112 positionedand configured to record the live event. In some embodiments, there aretwo, three, four, five, six, seven, or eight or more cameras 112positioned and configured to record the live event. In some embodiments,each video camera 112 is a PANASONIC HPX-250. Nonlimiting examples ofthe video camera 112 in other embodiments of the present disclosureinclude, but are not limited to, the CANON XH A1, CANON XH G1, PANASONICAG-HVX200, PANASONIC AG-DVX100B, SONY HDR-FX1, CANON XL2, CANON GL1,SONY HANDYCAM HDR-AX2000, PANASONIC AG-HMC150, PANASONIC AVCCAMAG-AC160, SONY HANDYCAM HDR-FX1000, PANASONIC AVCCAM AG-AF100, SONYHVR-V1U, CANON XH A1S, SONY HVR-Z7U, CANON EOS C300, SONY HXR-NXSU,CANON XF100, CANON XL H1S, and the CANON XF305 cameras.

In some embodiments, a video camera 112 outputs a high-definitionmultimedia interface (HDMI) signal (e.g., HDMI 1.0, 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4).HDMI uses the Consumer Electronics Association/Electronic IndustriesAlliance 861 standards. HDMI 1.0 to HDMI 1.2a uses the EIA/CEA-861-Bvideo standard, HDMI 1.3 uses the CEA-861-D video standard, and HDMI 1.4uses the CEA-861-E video standard. In some embodiments, this HDMI signalis converted to a serial digital interface (SDI) signal prior to beinginput into the video board 114 (or the video board 114 converts the HDMIsignal into an SDI signal). In some embodiments, the video camera 112directly outputs an SDI or high definition SDI signal. High-definitionserial digital interface (HD-SDI) is standardized in SMPTE 292M andprovides a nominal data rate of 1.485 Gbit/s. See Rumsey and Watkinson,Digital Interface Handbook, Third Edition, 2004, Focal Press, BurlingtonMass., which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a video board 114 comprising a plurality ofvideo inputs receives the video signals from the plurality of videocameras 112. Specifically, each respective video input in a plurality ofvideo inputs of the video board 114 receives a video input signal from acorresponding video camera 112 in the plurality of video cameras. Thevideo board 114 further comprises a selection mechanism for selectingthe video input signal received by a video input in the plurality ofvideo inputs as a video output from the video board. For instance, insome embodiments, the selection mechanism comprises a display having aplurality of panels, where each respective panel in the plurality ofpanels displays a respective video input signal received by acorresponding video input in the plurality of video inputs. At any giventime, the user selects the panel that contains the desired video inputsignal that is to be used as the video output of the video board 114.This can be done, for example, by pressing a button associated with thescreen. In another example, the screen is a touchscreen display and theselection is made by touching the desired panel. In some embodiments,the selection mechanism is configured to wipe or transition between (i)a first video input signal that was previously selected as the videooutput from the video board 114 and (ii) a second video input signalthat is currently selected as the video output from the video board. Awipe or transition “wipes” or otherwise transitions the first inputsignal in a growing predetermined pattern and replaces it with thesecond video input signal. Such growing predetermined patterns cansimulate, for example, the turning of a page. Such growing predeterminedpatterns can, for example, introduce the second video input signal onone or more borders of the screen and grow across the screen until noneof the original video input signal remains. An example of a video board114 that support such a feature is the DATAVIDEO TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd.SE-3000. The Instructions Manual for the SE-3000, “8/16 Channel SwitcherSE-3000 Instruction Manual”, 2011, Datavideo Technologies, Ltd., detailsnumerous wipes or transitions and is hereby incorporated by reference.

In some embodiments, the video board 114 is a multi-channel (e.g., eightor sixteen) high definition SDI video switcher having a main unit thatcan be mounted in a standard nineteen inch rack so that it is portable.A separate control unit can then be placed on a nearby flat work surfaceor built into a gallery or OB van desk. In some embodiments, the controlpanel and main unit communicate via a standard (straight through)Ethernet patch cable.

In some embodiments, the video board 114 accepts HD-SDI inputs from theplurality of video cameras 112. In some embodiments the video board 114synchronizes the input channels internally without the need for externalgenlock, although in some embodiments an external reference is loopedthrough the video board 114 to minimize the delay through the switcher.In some embodiments, each input channel is also provided with its owncolor processor or processor amplifier.

In some embodiments, the video board 114 provides a multi-image preview,e.g., via DVI-D or HD-SDI (BNC), that can be fed to one or two largeformat LCD monitor screens, thereby keeping the number of requiredmonitors to a minimum. In some embodiments, the video board 114 providesuser delegated auxiliary HD-SDI outputs. In some embodiments, the videoboard 114 provides high definition preview and program outputs viaHD-SDI (BNC) and Component (Y, Pb, Pr). In some embodiments, the videoboard 114 provides mixer features such as picture in picture (PiP), cut,wipe and mix (dissolve) transitions between a first selected video inputsignal image and a second selected video input signal. The InstructionsManual for the SE-3000, “8/16 Channel Switcher SE-3000 InstructionManual”, 2011, Datavideo Technologies, Ltd., details numerous PiP, cut,wipe and mix transitions and is hereby incorporated by reference.

In some embodiments, the video board 114 is configured to performadvanced digital video effects (DVE), such as three-dimensional pageturn transitions. In some embodiments, the video board 114 is configuredto produce a multi-image output with key and fill layers. In someembodiments, the video board 114 allows a choice of backgroundimage/video one or more picture-in-picture (PiP) windows at the outputvideo which can be sized, rotated, positioned and cropped. In someembodiments, the video board 114 allows the PiP windows to have userdefined colored borders. In some embodiments, the video board 114provides for a resolution of the video output from the video board to beset to one of a plurality of predetermined resolutions (e.g., 1920×1080i60, 1920×1080i 59.94, 1920×1080i 50, 1280×720p 60, 1280×720p 59.94,1280×720p 50, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 1, in some embodiments the portable system 100comprises an optional first pre-amplifier 116 for amplifying the firstambient audio signal from the first ambient microphone before the firstambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer 108 and a secondoptional pre-amplifier 118 for amplifying the second ambient audiosignal from the second ambient microphone before the second ambientaudio signal is received by the sound mixer 108. In some embodiments,where more than two microphones are used to collect ambient sound, thereare a matching number of preamplifiers, with each ambient microphonehaving a corresponding preamplifier. In some embodiments, the portablesystem 100 does not comprise a pre-amplifier 116 or a pre-amplifier 118.

In some embodiments, portable system 100 comprises an amplifier 120configured to (i) amplify the first ambient audio signal from the firstpre-amplifier 116 before the first ambient audio signal is received bythe sound mixer 108 and (ii) amplify the second ambient audio signalfrom the second pre-amplifier 118 before the second ambient audio signalis received by the sound mixer 108. In some embodiments, the amplifier120 is further configured to compress the first ambient audio signalfrom the first ambient microphone 104 in accordance with one or morecompression parameters before the first ambient audio signal is receivedby the sound mixer 108. An example of an amplifier that is in accordancewith some embodiments of the present disclosure is the APPLIED RESEARCHAND TECHNOLOGY Pro VLA II two channel tube leveling amplifier. In someembodiments, the amplifier 120 is further configured to compress thesecond ambient audio signal from the second ambient microphone 106 inaccordance with one or more compression parameters before the secondambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer 108. In someembodiments, the one or more compression parameters are a plurality ofparameters comprising a threshold, a compression ratio, an attack time,and a release time.

Threshold defines a predefined decibel value at which point theamplifier 120 will begin compression (reducing the decibel rating) ofthe ambient audio signal from the ambient microphones. In someembodiments a different threshold setting can be applied to each of theinput ambient audio signals.

The compression ratio selects the amount of compression applied to theambient audio signal from the ambient microphones once that signalreaches or exceeds the threshold. In some embodiments, this compressionamount is expressed as a ratio of input to output. For example, when a4:1 compression ratio is chosen, for every 4 dB over the threshold theambient audio signal from the ambient microphones rises, the outputlevel only rises by 1 dB. In this case if the input signal increased 12dB over the threshold, the output level would only rise by 3 dB over thethreshold.

The attack time is the length of the temporal delay before thecompressor/limiter responds to an increase in signal level (by reducinggain). The attack time is used to control the shape the “front end” ofthe dynamics envelope. For example, a short attack makes a snare hitsound “thin”. But as the attack time is increased, the same snare hitwill provide more of a thump in the compressed snare. The downside of anincreased attack time is that it creates an overshoot, (or “transient”),the length of which is the time set by the ATTACK control. Overshootsless than one millisecond are hard to hear even when they are clipped.If the ATTACK is set too fast, the gain may be reduced too much andthereby create a “pumping” sound. “Pumping” means that it sounds likethe signal is muted when it shouldn't be muted.

The release time is the amount of time it takes the compressor toincrease the gain after the input level drops. Longer settings maintainthe dynamics of the input signal, while shorter settings reduce thedynamics. Shorter settings will also increase the apparentreverberation, and at extreme gain reduction settings, lead to breathingartifacts. Breathing is the sound of the compressor/limiter turning upthe gain so quickly you can hear breathing noises between words duringvocal processing.

Referring to FIG. 1, a recorder 122 having (i) an audio input forreceiving the mixed audio signal from the sound mixer 108 and (ii) avideo input for receiving the video output from the video board 114 isconfigured to combine the mixed audio signal with the video output fromthe video board, thereby producing an audio/visual signal. In someembodiments, the recorder 122 is configured to record the audio andvideo input using a codec. Exemplary codecs include, but are not limitedto, the APPLE ProRes 422, APPLE ProRes 422 (HQ), APPLE ProRes 422 (LT),and APPLE ProRes 422 (Proxy) codecs. In some embodiments, the recorder122 is a KiPro (AJA Video Systems, Grass Valley, Calif.).Advantageously, in some embodiments, the recorder 122 is used to recordthe event. This recording can be used subsequently by live eventperformers to improve the quality of future shows, distribution to fans,production purposes, distribution from an Internet website, and thelike. The recorder 122 is configured to output the audio/visual signalas a composite serial digital interface signal. In some embodiments,this output composite serial digital interface signal is not encodedusing a codec. In some embodiments, this output composite serial digitalinterface signal is encoded using a codec. In some embodiments, theoutput composite serial digital interface signal is a high definitionserial digital interface signal.

An encoder 124 having an input port receives the composite serialdigital interface signal from the recorder 122. The encoder 124 encodesthe composite serial digital interface signal using a first video codecat each of a first plurality of bitrates. The encoder 124 also encodesthe composite serial digital interface signal using a first audio codec.This results in a plurality of bitrate streams. Each of these bitratestreams comprises the video portion of the composite serial digitalinterface signal encoded at a corresponding bitrate in the firstplurality of bitrates by the first video codec.

In some embodiments, the first video codec is H.264 or an advanced videocoding (AVC) also known as MPEG-4 Part 10. H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVCis a standard for video compression, and is suitable for the recording,compression, and distribution of high definition video. H.264/MPEG-4 AVCis a block-oriented motion-compensation-based codec standard developedby the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) together with theInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO)/InternationalElectrotechnical Commission (IEC) joint working group, the MovingPicture Experts Group (MPEG). The product of this partnership effort isknown as the Joint Video Team (JVT). The ITU-T H.264 standard and theISO/IEC MPEG-4 AVC standard (formally, ISO/IEC 14496-10-MPEG-4 Part 10,Advanced Video Coding) are jointly maintained. The standard is suitablefor streaming videos on the Internet and is supported by web softwaresuch as the ADOBE FLASH Player and MICROSOFT Silverlight. Moreover, thestandard can be used for satellite communications (DVB-S and DVB-S2).

In some embodiments the first plurality of bitrate streams are stored inone or more video containers (e.g., an MP4, 3GP, or 3G2 container).MPEG-4 Part 14 or MP4 (formally ISO/IEC 14496-14:2003) is a multimediacontainer format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4. It is mostcommonly used to store digital video and digital audio streams,especially those defined by MPEG, but can also be used to store otherdata such as subtitles and still images. MPEG-4 Part 14 allows streamingover the Internet. A separate hint track is used to include streaminginformation in the file. The official filename extension for MPEG-4 Part14 files is .mp4. MPEG-4 Part 14 is an instance of more general ISO/IEC14496-12:2004 (MPEG-4 Part 12: ISO base media file format) which isdirectly based upon QuickTime File Format. MPEG-4 Part 14 is similar tothe QuickTime file format, but formally specifies support for InitialObject Descriptors (IOD) and other MPEG features. MPEG-4 Part 14redefines 13 of ISO/IEC 14496-1 (MPEG-4 Part 1: Systems), in which thefile format for MPEG-4 content was previously specified. The MPEG-4 fileformat, version 1 was published in 2001 as ISO/IEC 14496-1:2001, whichis a revision of the MPEG-4 Part 1: Systems specification published in1999 (ISO/IEC 14496-1:1999). The original version of the MP4 file formathas been revised and replaced by MPEG-4 Part 14: MP4 file format(ISO/IEC 14496-14:2003), commonly named as MPEG-4 file format version 2.The MP4 file format was generalized into the ISO Base Media File formatISO/IEC 14496-12:2004, which defines a general structure for time-basedmedia files. It in turn is used as the basis for other file formats inthe family (for example MP4, 3GP, Motion JPEG 2000). 3GP (3GPP fileformat) is a multimedia container format defined by the Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) for 3G UMTS multimedia services. It is usedon 3G mobile phones but can also be played on some 2G and 4G phones. 3G2(3GPP2 file format) is a multimedia container format defined by the3GPP2 for 3G CDMA2000 multimedia services. It is similar to the 3GP fileformat, but has some extensions and limitations in comparison to 3GP.The 3GP and 3G2 file formats are both structurally based on the ISO basemedia file format defined in ISO/IEC 14496-12-MPEG-4 Part 12. 3GP and3G2 are container formats similar to MPEG-4 Part 14 (MP4), which is alsobased on MPEG-4 Part 12. The 3GP and 3G2 file formats were designed todecrease storage and bandwidth requirements in order to accommodatemobile phones. 3GP and 3G2 are similar standards, but with somedifferences. The 3GPP file format was designed for GSM-based Phones andmay have the filename extension .3 gp. The 3GPP2 file format wasdesigned for CDMA-based Phones and may have the filename extension .3g2.The 3GP file format stores video streams as MPEG-4 Part 2 or H.263 orMPEG-4 Part 10 (AVC/H.264), and audio streams as AMR-NB, AMR-WB,AMR-WB+, AAC-LC, HE-AAC v1 or Enhanced aacPlus (HE-AAC v2). 3GPP allowsuse of AMR and H.263 codecs in the ISO base media file format (MPEG-4Part 12), because 3GPP specifies the usage of the Sample Entry andtemplate fields in the ISO base media file format as well as definingnew boxes to which codecs refer. For the storage of MPEG-4 mediaspecific information in 3GP files, the 3GP specification refers to MP4and the AVC file format, which are also based on the ISO base media fileformat. The MP4 and the AVC file format specifications described usageof MPEG-4 content in the ISO base media file format. The 3G2 file formatcan store the same video streams and most of the audio streams used inthe 3GP file format. In addition, 3G2 stores audio streams as EVRC,EVRC-B, EVRC-WB, 13K (QCELP), SMV or VMR-WB, which is specified by 3GPP2for use in ISO base media file format. For the storage of MPEG-4 media(AAC audio, MPEG-4 Part 2 video, MPEG-4 Part 10-H.264/AVC) in 3G2 files,the 3G2 specification refers to the MP4 file format and the AVC fileformat specification, which describes usage of this content in the ISObase media file format. For the storage of H.263 and AMR content, the3G2 specification refers to the 3GP file format specification.

In some embodiments the first plurality of bitrate streams are stored inadvanced systems format. Advanced Systems Format (formerly AdvancedStreaming Format, Active Streaming Format) is a proprietary digitalaudio/digital video container format, especially meant for streamingmedia. ASF is part of the Windows Media framework. The most common filetypes contained within an ASF file are Windows Media Audio (WMA) andWindows Media Video (WMV). Accordingly, in some embodiments, the firstvideo codec is a WMV codec and the plurality of bitrate streams areencoded in WMV and the first audio codec is a WMA codec.

The file extension “.WMV” typically describes ASF files that use WindowsMedia Video codecs. The audio codec used in conjunction with WindowsMedia Video is typically some version of WMA. Alternatives for WMVinclude, but are not limited to, MPEG-4 AVC, AVS, RealVideo, and MPEG-4ASP. An original version of the codec is WMV 7. Continued developmentled to WMV 9. While all versions of WMV support variable bit rate,average bit rate, and constant bit rate, WMV 9 includes native supportfor interlaced video, non-square pixels, frame interpolation, and aprofile titled Windows Media Video 9 Professional, which is activatedautomatically whenever the video resolution exceeds 300,000 pixels(e.g., 528×576, 640×480 or 768×432 and beyond) and the bitrate 1000kbit/s. WMV 9 support video content at resolutions such as 720p and1080p. In some embodiments, the WMV codec is VC-1 (SMPTE reference SMPTE421M).

Windows Media Audio (WMA) is an audio data compression technologydeveloped by MICROSOFT. The name interchangeably refers to its audiofile format and to its audio codecs. It forms part of the Windows Mediaframework. WMA comprises several distinct codecs including WMA, WMA Pro,a newer and more advanced codec which supports multichannel and highresolution audio, WMA Lossless, a lossless codec that compresses audiodata without loss of audio fidelity (the regular WMA format is lossy),as well as WMA Voice, which is targeted at voice content and appliescompression using a range of low bit rates.

In some embodiments the first plurality of bitrate streams are stored inMPEG-2 format. In some embodiments in which the first plurality ofbitrate streams are stored in MPEG-2 format, the first audio codec isMPEG-2 Part 7, advanced audio coding, and the first video codec isMPEG-2 Part 2, H.262.

In some embodiments, the encoder 124 is selected from CISCO mediaprocessor family, formerly the Spinnaker family. In some embodiments,the encoder is a CISCO AS3005 series media processor (Spinnaker 3005), aCISCO AS5100 series media processor (Spinnaker SD/5000), a CISCO AS6000Series Media Processor (Spinnaker IP/6000), a CISCO AS7100 Series MediaProcessor (Spinnaker HD/7100), or a CISCO AS8100 Series Media Processor(Spinnaker HD-X/8100). In some embodiments, the first video codec andthe first audio codec are each in a format supported by the CISCO mediaprocessor family.

Referring to FIG. 1, system 100 further comprises a satellite uplinkrouter 126 that is configured to receive the first plurality of bitratestreams using an HTTP protocol and transmit the first plurality ofbitrate streams to a satellite for distribution to one or more downlinkservers for distribution on the Internet. In some embodiments, satelliteuplink router 126 is an iDIRECT iNFINITI 5000 series satellite router(iDirect, Inc., Herndon, Va.). In some embodiments, the satellite uplinkrouter 126 is configured to transmit the first plurality of bitratestreams to the satellite using a TCP or UDP protocol.

Using the satellite uplink router 126, the portable system 100 sends thefirst plurality of bitrate streams, encapsulated in packets (e.g., TCPor UDP packets) through uplink antenna 128 to a satellite 130, wherethey are then sent to one or more downlink antennas 132 and communicatedto one or more downlink servers 134. In some embodiments, the one ormore downlink servers 134 then communicate the first plurality ofbitrate streams to one or more cellular antennas 136 for wirelessdistribution to one or more devices 138. In some embodiments, a clientdevice 138 in the first plurality of client devices 138 is an APPLE iPADor APPLE iPHONE. In some embodiments, a client device in the firstplurality of client devices implements Internet Explorer 9.0 or greater,SAFARI 3.0 or greater, or ANDROID 2.0 or greater. In some embodiments,the one or more downlink servers 134 then communicate the firstplurality of bitrate streams through a wired Internet connection (e.g.,one or more ISPs) to a plurality of devices that are physicallyconnected to the Internet or related packet-based network.

In some embodiments, the first plurality of bitrate streams areconfigured for adaptive bitrate streaming and the downlink server 134 isconfigured to download the first plurality of bitrate streams of thelive event and serve the first plurality of bitrate streams to a firstplurality of client devices 138 using an adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol across a cellular network. In some embodiments, the adaptivebitrate streaming protocol is ADOBE dynamic streaming for FLASH. Forinstance, in some embodiments the adaptive bitrate streaming protocol isADOBE dynamics streaming for FLASH (e.g., Flash Player 10, 10.1 or AIR2) and the first video codec is H.264 and the first audio codec isadvanced audio coding (AAC). In such embodiments, downlink server 134includes or is in electronic communication with a flash media server(e.g., Flash Media Interactive Server, Flash Media Streaming Server,Flash Media Development Server, etc.). The flash media server handlesthe actual switching of the streams in the plurality of bitrate streamsfor any given device 138 based on the client-originated request to doso. Once the server 134 receives the request to switch the user's streamto a different stream (bandwidth), it waits a short period for theoptimal point to switch with minimal playback impact to the user. Thisoccurs on the nearest keyframe for video-only content, the nearest audiosample for audio-only streams, and the combination of the two for videocontent with audio. This means that video encoded with a keyframe everysix seconds could take up to six seconds, once the command to switchstreams has been received by the server, to actually switch the content(switch from one bitrate stream to another) and send thetransition-complete notification. As such, Flash Media Server is a hubon which media such as video and audio files are physically located.When accessed by a device 138, the video player (SWF file) on the device138 makes a call to the server (e.g., server 134) using the real timemessaging protocol (called an RTMP address), locates the media file, andstarts to play it as soon as they arrive in the browser running adobeflash player on the device 138. There is no waiting for some of thecontent to load and nothing is downloaded to the browser's cache at all.RTMP is a proprietary protocol which uses TCP (transmission controlprotocol) for the transmission of data packets between Flash Player andFlash Media Server. ADOBE dynamic streaming for FLASH is designed todeliver video (FLV, MP4, and MOV) and audio (MP3, AAC, and Nellymoser)files in a MP4 container to a SWF embedded in a web page, on a device138.

In some embodiments, the adaptive bitrate streaming protocol that isused to download one of the plurality of bitrate streams from thedownlink server 134 to a device 138 is APPLE HTTP adaptive streaming.

In some embodiments, the adaptive bitrate streaming protocol that isused to download one of the plurality of bitrate streams from thedownlink server 134 to a device 138 is 3GPP/MPEG DASH. The 3GPP/MPEGDASH adaptive streaming protocol is designed to deliver video (H.264)and audio (AAC) files encoded in a MPEG-2 or MP4 container.

In some embodiments, the adaptive bitrate streaming protocol that isused to download one of the plurality of bitrate streams from thedownlink server 134 to a device 138 is MICROSOFT Smooth Streaming. TheMICROSOFT Smooth Streaming adaptive streaming protocol is designed todeliver video (H.264) and audio (AAC, WMA) encoded in a MP4 container.

In some embodiments, the adaptive bitrate streaming protocol that isused to download one of the plurality of bitrate streams from thedownlink server 134 to a device 138 is 3GPP RTSP Streaming. The 3GPPRTSP Streaming adaptive streaming protocol is designed to deliver video(H.263, H.264, MPEG-4) and audio (AAC, AMR) encoded in TRP packets.

In some embodiments, the downlink server 134 is configured to serve theplurality of bitrate streams using HTML5. In other words, the bitratestreams are encoded using HTML5. HTML5 includes a <video> tag that isnot present in prior versions of HTML. In some embodiments, each bitratestream is encoded as a video and designated using the <video> tag inHTML5. By use of the <video> tag in HTML5, there is no need foradditional plug-in software like Flash, Silverlight and QuickTime to runthe video on devices 138.

In some embodiments, the connection between cellular antenna 136 and adevice 138 is a 3G or a 4G connection. In some embodiments, a 4G systemprovides mobile broadband Internet access to devices 138. One advantageof 4G is that it can, at any point of device 138 travelling time,provide an internet data transfer rate higher than any existing cellularservices (excluding broadband and Wi-Fi connections).

In some embodiments, the encoder 124 further encodes the compositeserial digital interface signal using (i) a second video codec at eachof a second plurality of bitrates and (ii) a second audio codec, therebyforming a second plurality of bitrate streams, each respective bitratestream in the second plurality of bitrate streams comprising the videoportion of the composite serial digital interface signal encoded at acorresponding bitrate in the second plurality of bitrates by the secondvideo code. In such embodiments, the satellite uplink router 126 isfurther configured to receive the second plurality of bitrate streamsusing an HTTP protocol while also receiving the first plurality ofbitrate streams. The second plurality of bitrate streams are transmittedto the satellite 130 for distribution to one or more downlink servers134 for concurrent distribution of the first plurality of bitratestreams and the second plurality of bitrate streams on the Internet.This is particularly advantageous for reaching devices 138 that do notall support the same codes. For instance, in some embodiments, the firstplurality of bitrate streams employ one or more codecs in a first set ofcodecs and the second plurality of bitrate streams employ one or morecodecs in a second set of codecs, where the first set of codecs and thesecond codecs differ by at least one codec. In one specific embodiment,the first plurality of bitrate streams are configured for a firstadaptive bitrate streaming protocol, the second plurality of bitratestreams are configured for a second adaptive bitrate streaming protocol,and the downlink server 134 is configured to concurrently (i) downloadthe first plurality of bitrate streams of the live event and serve thefirst plurality of bitrate streams to a first plurality of clientdevices 138 using the first adaptive bitrate streaming protocol and (ii)download the second plurality of bitrate streams of the live event andserve the second plurality of bitrate streams to a second plurality ofclient devices 138 using the second adaptive bitrate streaming protocol.In one example in accordance with this embodiment, a client device 138in the first plurality of client devices is an APPLE iPAD or APPLEiPHONE, a client device in the second plurality of client devices 138implements INTERNET EXPLORER 9.0 or greater, the first adaptive bitratestreaming protocol is APPLE HTTP adaptive streaming, and the secondadaptive bitrate streaming protocol is ADOBE dynamic streaming forFLASH. In some embodiments, the downlink server 134 is furtherconfigured to serve the first plurality of bitrate streams and thesecond plurality of bitrate streams using HTML5. In some embodiments,the satellite uplink router is configured to transmit the firstplurality of bitrate streams and the second plurality of bitrate streamsto the satellite using a TCP or UDP protocol. In some embodiments, thefirst and second plurality of bitrate streams are stored in one or morevideo containers (e.g., MP4, 3GP, or 3G2).

FIG. 1 discloses specific components of system 100 such as sound mixer108, video board 114, recorder 122, encoder 124, and satellite uplinkrouter 126. While a single instance of each of these devices isillustrated in FIG. 1, it will be appreciated that system 100 mayinclude more than one of any of these components. Moreover, there may beany number of uplink antennas 128, satellites 130, downlink antennas132, downlink servers 134, and cellular antennas 136 to facilitate thesystems and methods of the present disclosure. Now that a system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure has beendescribed in conjunction with FIG. 1, a method for distributing anaudio/visual feed of a live event is set forth in conjunction with FIG.2.

In step 202 of FIG. 2, there is mixed together (i) a first ambient audiosignal from a first ambient microphone 104 monitoring a live event, (ii)a second ambient audio signal from a second ambient microphone 104monitoring the live event, and (iii) a sound board feed from a publicaddress system 110 associated with the live event, thereby forming amixed audio signal. Typically this mixing takes place at a sound mixer108. In some embodiments, ambient audio signals from more than twomicrophones are mixed with the sound board feed at the sound mixer. Forexample, in some embodiments, ambient audio signals from three or more,four or more, five or more, or six or more microphones are mixed withthe sound board free at the sound mixer. In some embodiments, the firstambient audio signal from the first ambient microphone 104 is amplifiedwith a first pre-amplifier 116 prior to the mixing and the secondambient audio signal from the second ambient microphone 106 is amplifiedwith a second pre-amplifier 118 prior to the mixing. In someembodiments, the first ambient audio signal from the first pre-amplifier116 and the second ambient audio signal from the second pre-amplifier118 is amplified with the amplifier 120 prior to the mixing. In someembodiments, the amplifier 120 is further configured to concurrentlycompress the first ambient audio signal from the first pre-amplifier inaccordance with one or more compression parameters before the firstambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer as well as compressthe second ambient audio signal from the second pre-amplifier 118 inaccordance with one or more compression parameters before the secondambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer 108. In someembodiments, the one or more compression parameters is a plurality ofparameters comprising a threshold, a compression ratio, an attack time,and a release time.

In step 204, the mixed audio signal is received at an audio input of arecorder 122. In typical embodiments, the output of the sound mixer 108produced in step 202 is fed to the audio input of the recorder 122 viacable in order to accomplish step 204. In typical embodiments, themixing at step 202 occurs at a sound mixer 108 and the output of thesound mixer 108 is cabled into the recorder 122. In some embodiments,the data connection between the sound mixer 108 and the recorder 122 iswireless (e.g., 802.11, etc.). In some embodiments the mixed audiosignal from the sound mixer 108 is put on magnetic or other fixed media(e.g., DVD, USB key, digital tape, etc.) and physically transported tothe recorder 122 to achieve step 204.

In step 206, a respective video input signal is received at eachrespective video input in a plurality of video inputs at a video board114 from a corresponding camera 112 in a plurality of video cameras. Theplurality of video cameras 112 are positioned and configured to recordthe live event. In some embodiments the plurality of video camerasconsists of two video cameras. In some embodiments the plurality ofvideo cameras consists of three, four, five, six, seven, or eight ormore video cameras. In some embodiments, the video input signal from avideo camera in the plurality of video cameras is a video serial digitalinterface signal (e.g., a high definition serial digital interfacesignal). In some embodiments, the video input signal from a video camerain the plurality of video cameras is an HDMI signal that is converted toa video serial digital interface signal prior to step 206.

In step 208, a video input signal, received by a video input in theplurality of video inputs in step 206, is selected as a video outputfrom the video board 114. In typical embodiments, this selection is doneusing human intervention. For example, in some embodiments, the operatorof a video board 114 reviews the received video input signals as theyare concurrently displayed on one or more monitors. In such embodiments,each of the received video input signals is displayed in a separatewindow on the one or more monitors associated with the video board. Theoperator of the video board 114 selects one of the displayed video inputsignals from the one or more display as the video output from the videoboard. In an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of panels on atouch-screen display are provided, with each respective panel in theplurality of panels displaying a corresponding video input signalreceived by a corresponding video input in the plurality of videoinputs. A selection of a first panel in the plurality of panels isreceived, thereby selecting the video input signal displayed by thefirst panel to be the video output of the video board 114. In someembodiments, the video board 114 is used to adjust the video inputsignal that has been selected as the video output to one of a pluralityof predetermined resolutions (e.g., 1920×1080i 60, 1920×1080i 59.94,1920×1080i 50, 1280×720p 60, 1280×720p 59.94 and 1280×720p 50, etc.). Insome embodiments, video board 114 has any number of features thatfacilitate step 208. For instance, in some embodiments, rather thancutting directly from a first video input signal that has been selectedas a video output at a first time to a second video input signal that isselected at a subsequent second time, some embodiments of the selectingstep 208 comprise wiping or transitioning between (i) the first videoinput signal that was previously selected at the video board and (ii)the second video input signal that is currently selected as the videoboard. This wiping or transitioning involves a gradual removal ofportions of the first video input signal and replacement withcorresponding parts of the second video input signal on a temporal basisto achieve a smooth transition from the first to the second selectedvideo signal.

In step 210, the video output from the video board 114 is received as avideo input at a recorder 122. In typical embodiments this isaccomplished by connecting a cable between the video board 114 and therecorder 122. In some embodiments, the data connection between the videoboard 114 and the recorder 122 is wireless (e.g., 802.11, etc.). In someembodiments the video output from the video board 114 is put on magneticor other fixed media (e.g., DVD, USB key, etc.) and physicallytransported to the recorder 122 to achieve step 210.

In step 212 the mixed audio signal is combined with the video output atthe recorder 122, thereby producing an audio/visual signal formatted asa composite serial digital interface signal.

In step 214, the composite serial digital interface signal is receivedat an encoder 124. In typical embodiments this is accomplished byconnecting a cable between the recorder 122 and the encoder 124. In someembodiments, the data connection between the recorder 122 and encoder124 is wireless (e.g., 802.11, etc.). In some embodiments the serialdigital interface signal from the encoder 124 is put on magnetic orother fixed media (e.g., DVD, USB key, etc.) and physically transportedto the encoder 124 to achieve step 214.

In step 216, the composite serial digital interface signal is encoded atthe encoder 124 using (i) a first video codec (e.g., H.264, AAC, etc.)at each of a plurality of bitrates and (ii) a first audio codec, therebyforming a first plurality of bitrate streams, each respective bitratestream in the first plurality of bitrate streams comprising the videoportion of the composite serial digital interface signal encoded at acorresponding bitrate in the first plurality of bitrates by the firstvideo codec. Advantageously, such encoding allows remote devices thathave excellent connectivity to download a bitrate stream encoded at ahigher resolution bitrate than those remote devices that have reducedconnectivity. In this way, such encoding guarantees an optimum viewingexperience across a spectrum of bandwidth connectivity rates. Moreover,a remote device can switch from one bitrate stream to another,midstream, to account for abrupt changes in connectivity. In someembodiments, the plurality of bitrate streams consists of two bitratestreams. In some embodiments, the plurality of bitrate streams consistsof three bitrate streams, four bitrate streams, five bitrate streams, orbetween five and twenty bitrate streams. In some embodiments, theplurality of bitrate streams is stored in one or more video containers(e.g., MP4, 3GP, 3G2, etc.).

In step 218 the first plurality of bitrate streams are received at asatellite uplink router 126 using an HTTP protocol. In other words, anHTTP protocol is used to communicate the plurality of bitrate streamsfrom the encoder to the router. The link between the encoder 124 and thesatellite uplink router 126 is wired in some embodiments (e.g., a CAT5cable) whereas in other embodiments the link is wireless (e.g., 802.11).

In step 220, the satellite uplink router 126 is used to transmit thefirst plurality of bitrate streams to a satellite 130 for distributionto one or more downlink servers 134 for distribution on the Internet. Insome embodiments, the first plurality of bitrate streams are configuredfor adaptive bitrate streaming, and step 220 encompasses downloading thefirst plurality of bitrate streams of the live event with a downlinkserver 134 configured to serve the first plurality of bitrate streams toa plurality of client devices 138 using an adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol (e.g., ADOBE dynamic streaming for FLASH, APPLE HTTP adaptivestreaming, etc.). In some embodiments, the plurality of bitrate streamsis served by the downlink server using HTML5. In some embodiments, thetransmitting step 220 transmits the plurality of bitrate streams to thesatellite using a TCP or UDP protocol.

In some embodiments, a client device 138 in the plurality of clientdevices is an APPLE iPAD or APPLE iPHONE. In some embodiments, theclient device 138 in the plurality of client devices is an APPLE iPAD orAPPLE iPHONE and the client device in the first plurality of clientdevices implements Internet Explorer 9.0 or greater, SAFARI 3.0 orgreater, or ANDROID 2.0 or greater.

In some embodiments, the encoding step 216 further encodes the compositeserial digital interface signal using (i) a second video codec at eachof a second plurality of bitrates and (ii) a second audio codec, therebyforming a second plurality of bitrate streams, each respective bitratestream in the second plurality of bitrate streams comprising the videoportion of the composite serial digital interface signal encoded at acorresponding bitrate in the second plurality of bitrates by the secondvideo code. In such embodiments, the second plurality of bitrate streamsis received at the satellite uplink router 126 using an HTTP protocolconcurrent to when the first plurality of bitrate streams is received.Moreover, in such embodiments, the second plurality of bitrate streamsis transmitted, using the satellite uplink router, to the satellite 130for distribution to one or more downlink servers 134 for concurrentdistribution of the first plurality of bitrate streams and the secondplurality of bitrate streams on the Internet. Typically, in suchembodiments, the first plurality of bitrate streams are configured for afirst adaptive bitrate streaming protocol and the second plurality ofbitrate streams are configured for a second adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol. In such instances the following takes place concurrently: (i)the first plurality of bitrate streams of the live event are downloadedand served to a first plurality of client devices using the firstadaptive bitrate streaming protocol and (ii) the second plurality ofbitrate streams of the live event are downloaded and served to a secondplurality of client devices using the second adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol. In some embodiments, a client device in the first plurality ofclient devices is an APPLE iPAD or APPLE iPHONE, a client device in thesecond plurality of client devices implements Internet Explorer 9.0 orgreater, the first adaptive bitrate streaming protocol is APPLE HTTPadaptive streaming, and the second adaptive bitrate streaming protocolis ADOBE dynamic streaming for FLASH. In some embodiments, the methodfurther comprises serving the first plurality of transmitted bitratestreams and the second plurality of transmitted bitrate streams usingHTML5. In some embodiments, the first plurality of bitrate streams andthe second plurality of bitrate streams are transmitted to the satellite130 using a TCP or UDP protocol. In some embodiments, the first andsecond plurality of bitrate streams are each stored in one or more videocontainers (e.g., MP4, 3GP, or 3G2).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating downlink server 134, according tosome embodiments. The downlink server 134 typically includes one or moreprocessing units (CPU's, sometimes called processors) 302 for executingprograms (e.g., programs stored in memory 310), one or more network orother communications interfaces 304, memory 310, and one or morecommunication buses 309 for interconnecting these components. Thecommunication buses 309 may include circuitry (sometimes called achipset) that interconnects and controls communications between systemcomponents. The downlink server 134 optionally includes a user interface305 comprising a display device 306 and input devices 308 (e.g.,keyboard, mouse, touch screen, keypads, etc.). Memory 310 includeshigh-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or otherrandom access solid state memory devices; and typically includesnon-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices,optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 310 optionally includesone or more storage devices remotely located from the CPU(s) 302. Memory310, or alternately the non-volatile memory device(s) within memory 310,comprises a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someembodiments, memory 310 or the computer readable storage medium ofmemory 310 stores the following programs, modules and data structures,or a subset thereof:

-   -   an operating system 312 that includes procedures for handling        various basic system services and for performing hardware        dependent tasks;    -   a communication module 314 that is used for connecting the        downlink server 134 to other computers via the one or more        communication interfaces 304 (wired or wireless) and one or more        communication networks, such as the Internet, other wide area        networks, local area networks, metropolitan area networks, and        so on;    -   an optional user interface module 316 that receives commands        from the user via the input devices 308 and generates user        interface objects in the display device 306;    -   a downlink module 318 for downloading from a satellite 132 a        plurality of bitrate streams;    -   a distribution module 320 for distributing the plurality of        bitrate streams to a plurality of devices 138; and    -   a bitrate stream storage module 322 for storing a plurality of        bitrate streams 324, each respective bitrate stream in the        plurality of bitrate streams comprising the video portion of a        composite serial digital interface signal encoded at a        corresponding bitrate in a first plurality of bitrates by a        first video codec.

In some embodiments, the programs or modules identified above correspondto sets of instructions for performing a function described above. Thesets of instructions can be executed by one or more processors (e.g.,the CPUs 302). The above identified modules or programs (i.e., sets ofinstructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs,procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these programs ormodules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments.In some embodiments, memory 310 stores a subset of the modules and datastructures identified above. Furthermore, memory 310 may storeadditional modules and data structures not described above.

Although FIG. 3 shows a “server,” FIG. 3 is intended more as afunctional description of the various features which may be present in aset of servers than as a structural schematic of the embodimentsdescribed herein. In practice, and as recognized by those of ordinaryskill in the art, items shown separately could be combined and someitems could be separated. For example, some items shown in FIG. 3 couldbe implemented by one or more servers. The actual number of servers usedto implement a server and how features are allocated among them willvary from one implementation to another.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a client device 138, according tosome embodiments. Note that discussion below may apply to any clientdevice. The client device 138-1 typically includes one or moreprocessing units (CPU's, sometimes called processors) 402 for executingprograms (e.g., programs stored in memory 410), one or more network orother communications interfaces 404, memory 410, and one or morecommunication buses 409 for interconnecting these components. Thecommunication buses 409 may include circuitry (sometimes called achipset) that interconnects and controls communications between systemcomponents. The client device 138 includes a user interface 405comprising a display 406 and input devices 408 (e.g., keyboard, mouse,touch screen, keypads, etc.). Memory 410 includes high-speed randomaccess memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other random access solidstate memory devices; and typically includes non-volatile memory, suchas one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. Memory 410 optionally includes one or more storage devicesremotely located from the CPU(s) 402. Memory 410, or alternately thenon-volatile memory device(s) within memory 410, comprises anon-transitory computer readable storage medium. In some embodiments,memory 410 or the computer readable storage medium of memory 410 storesthe following programs, modules and data structures, or a subsetthereof:

-   -   an operating system 412 that includes procedures for handling        various basic system services and for performing hardware        dependent tasks;    -   a communication module 414 that is used for connecting the        client device 104 to other computers via the one or more        communication interfaces 404 (wired or wireless) and one or more        communication networks, such as the Internet, other wide area        networks, local area networks, metropolitan area networks, and        so on;    -   a user interface module 416 that receives commands from the user        via the input devices 408 and generates user interface objects        in the display 406;    -   a browser module 418 that provides a user interface for users to        access to a bitrate stream in a plurality of bitrate streams in        accordance with the methods disclosed in the present disclosure;        and    -   optional bitrate stream storage 420 for storing one or more        bitrate streams 324, each such bitrate stream 324 comprising the        video portion of a composite serial digital interface signal        encoded at a corresponding bitrate in a first plurality of        bitrates by a first video codec.

In some embodiments, the programs or modules identified above correspondto sets of instructions for performing a function described above. Thesets of instructions can be executed by one or more processors (e.g.,the CPUs 402). The above identified modules or programs (i.e., sets ofinstructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs,procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these programs ormodules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments.In some embodiments, memory 410 stores a subset of the modules and datastructures identified above. Furthermore, memory 410 may storeadditional modules and data structures not described above.

Although FIG. 4 shows a “client device,” FIG. 4 is intended more asfunctional description of the various features which may be present in aclient device than as a structural schematic of the embodimentsdescribed herein. In practice, and as recognized by those of ordinaryskill in the art, items shown separately could be combined and someitems could be separated.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a satellite uplink router 126,according to some embodiments. The satellite uplink router 126 typicallyincludes one or more processing units (CPU's, sometimes calledprocessors) 502 for executing programs (e.g., programs stored in memory510), one or more network or other communications interfaces 504, memory510, and one or more communication buses 509 for interconnecting thesecomponents. The communication buses 509 may include circuitry (sometimescalled a chipset) that interconnects and controls communications betweensystem components. The satellite uplink router 126 optionally includes auser interface 505 comprising a display 506 and input devices 508 (e.g.,keyboard, mouse, touch screen, keypads, etc.). Memory 510 includeshigh-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or otherrandom access solid state memory devices; and typically includesnon-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices,optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 510 optionally includesone or more storage devices remotely located from the CPU(s) 502. Memory510, or alternately the non-volatile memory device(s) within memory 510,comprises a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someembodiments, memory 510 or the computer readable storage medium ofmemory 510 stores the following programs, modules and data structures,or a subset thereof:

-   -   an operating system 512 that includes procedures for handling        various basic system services and for performing hardware        dependent tasks;    -   a communication module 514 that is used for connecting the        satellite uplink router 126 to other computers and/or the        encoder 124 via the one or more communication interfaces 504        (wired or wireless) and one or more communication networks, such        as the Internet, other wide area networks, local area networks,        metropolitan area networks, and so on;    -   an optional user interface module 516 that receives commands        from the user via the input devices 508 and generates user        interface objects in the display 506;    -   an uplink module 518 for uploading a plurality of bitrate        streams 324 to a satellite; and    -   optional bitrate stream storage 522 for storing one or more        bitrate streams 324, each such bitrate stream 324 comprising the        video portion of a composite serial digital interface signal        encoded at a corresponding bitrate in a first plurality of        bitrates by a first video codec.

In some embodiments, the programs or modules identified above correspondto sets of instructions for performing a function described above. Thesets of instructions can be executed by one or more processors (e.g.,the CPUs 502). The above identified modules or programs (i.e., sets ofinstructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs,procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these programs ormodules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments.In some embodiments, memory 510 stores a subset of the modules and datastructures identified above. Furthermore, memory 510 may storeadditional modules and data structures not described above.

Although FIG. 5 shows a satellite uplink router 126, FIG. 5 is intendedmore as functional description of the various features which may bepresent in a client device than as a structural schematic of theembodiments described herein. In practice, and as recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art, items shown separately could be combined andsome items could be separated.

The methods illustrated in FIG. 2 may be governed by instructions thatare stored in a computer readable storage medium and that are executedby at least one processor of at least one server. Each of the operationsshown in FIG. 2 may correspond to instructions stored in anon-transitory computer memory or computer readable storage medium. Invarious implementations, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium includes a magnetic or optical disk storage device, solid statestorage devices such as Flash memory, or other non-volatile memorydevice or devices. The computer readable instructions stored on thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium may be in source code,assembly language code, object code, or other instruction format that isinterpreted and/or executable by one or more processors.

Plural instances may be provided for components, operations orstructures described herein as a single instance. Finally, boundariesbetween various components, operations, and data stores are somewhatarbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in the context ofspecific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionalityare envisioned and may fall within the scope of the implementation(s).In general, structures and functionality presented as separatecomponents in the example configurations may be implemented as acombined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionalitypresented as a single component may be implemented as separatecomponents. These and other variations, modifications, additions, andimprovements fall within the scope of the implementation(s).

It will also be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elementsshould not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used todistinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact couldbe termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could betermed a first contact, which changing the meaning of the description,so long as all occurrences of the “first contact” are renamedconsistently and all occurrences of the second contact are renamedconsistently. The first contact and the second contact are bothcontacts, but they are not the same contact.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularimplementations only and is not intended to be limiting of the claims.As used in the description of the implementations and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in accordance with a determination”or “in response to detecting,” that a stated condition precedent istrue, depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it isdetermined (that a stated condition precedent is true)” or “if (a statedcondition precedent is true)” or “when (a stated condition precedent istrue)” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response todetermining” or “in accordance with a determination” or “upon detecting”or “in response to detecting” that the stated condition precedent istrue, depending on the context.

The foregoing description included example systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products thatembody illustrative implementations. For purposes of explanation,numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide anunderstanding of various implementations of the inventive subjectmatter. It will be evident, however, to those skilled in the art thatimplementations of the inventive subject matter may be practiced withoutthese specific details. In general, well-known instruction instances,protocols, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific implementations. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the implementations to the precise forms disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible in view of the aboveteachings. The implementations were chosen and described in order tobest explain the principles and their practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the implementations andvarious implementations with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable system for distributing anaudio/visual feed of an event, comprising: a first microphone positionedat a first position relative to the event; a second microphonepositioned at a second position relative to the event; a sound mixer,wherein the sound mixer received and mixes at least (i) a first ambientaudio signal from the first ambient microphone, (ii) a second ambientaudio signal from the second ambient microphone, and (iii) a sound boardfeed from a public address system associated with the event, therebyforming a mixed audio signal; one or more video cameras positioned torecord the event; a video board comprising one or more video inputs,each respective video input in the one or more video inputs receiving avideo input signal from a corresponding video camera in the one or morevideo cameras, the video board further comprising a selection mechanismfor selecting the video input signal received by a video input in theone or more video inputs as a video output from the video board; arecorder, wherein the recorder comprises (i) an audio input forreceiving the mixed audio signal from the sound mixer and (ii) a videoinput for receiving the video output from the video board, and whereinthe recorder combines the mixed audio signal with the video output fromthe video board, thereby producing an audio/visual signal and whereinthe recorder outputs audio/visual signal as a composite serial digitalinterface signal; an encoder having an input port for receiving thecomposite serial digital interface signal, the encoder encoding thecomposite serial digital interface signal using (i) a first video codecat each of a first plurality of bitrates and (ii) a first audio codec,thereby forming a first plurality of bitrate streams, each respectivebitrate stream in the first plurality of bitrate streams comprising thevideo portion of the composite serial digital interface signal encodedat a corresponding bitrate in the first plurality of bitrates by thefirst video codec; and a satellite uplink router that to: receives thefirst plurality of bitrate streams using an HTTP protocol, and transmitsthe first plurality of bitrate streams to a satellite for distributionto one or more downlink servers for distribution on the Internet.
 2. Theportable system of claim 1, further comprising: a first pre-amplifierfor amplifying the first ambient audio signal from the first ambientmicrophone before the first ambient audio signal is received by thesound mixer; and a second pre-amplifier for amplifying the secondambient audio signal from the second ambient microphone before thesecond ambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer.
 3. Theportable system of claim 2, further comprising an amplifier that:amplifies the first ambient audio signal from the first pre-amplifierbefore the first ambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer,and amplifies the second ambient audio signal from the secondpre-amplifier before the second ambient audio signal is received by thesound mixer.
 4. The portable system of claim 3, wherein the amplifier:compresses the first ambient audio signal from the first pre-amplifierin accordance with one or more compression parameters before the firstambient audio signal is received by the sound mixer, and compresses thesecond ambient audio signal from the second pre-amplifier in accordancewith one or more compression parameters before the second ambient audiosignal is received by the sound mixer.
 5. The portable system of claim4, wherein the one or more compression parameters is a plurality ofparameters comprising a threshold, a compression ratio, an attack time,and a release time.
 6. The portable system of claim 1, wherein theselection mechanism wipes or transitions between (i) a first video inputsignal that was previously selected as the video output from the videoboard and (ii) a second video input signal that is currently selected asthe video output from the video board.
 7. The portable system of claim1, wherein the first plurality of bitrate streams invoke adaptivebitrate streaming, and the portable system further comprises a downlinkserver that downloads the first plurality of bitrate streams of theevent and serves the first plurality of bitrate streams to a firstplurality of client devices using a first adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol.
 8. The portable system of claim 7, wherein the first adaptivebitrate streaming protocol is dynamic streaming.
 9. The portable systemof claim 7, wherein the first adaptive bitrate streaming protocol isadaptive streaming.
 10. The portable system of claim 7, wherein thedownlink server serves the first plurality of bitrate streams usingHTML5.
 11. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the satellite uplinkrouter transmits the first plurality of bitrate streams to the satelliteusing a TCP or UDP protocol.
 12. The portable system of claim 1, whereinthe encoder further encodes the composite serial digital interfacesignal using (i) a second video codec at each of a second plurality ofbitrates and (ii) a second audio codec, thereby forming a secondplurality of bitrate streams, each respective bitrate stream in thesecond plurality of bitrate streams comprising the video portion of thecomposite serial digital interface signal encoded at a correspondingbitrate in the second plurality of bitrates by the second video code;and the satellite uplink router: receives the second plurality ofbitrate streams using an HTTP protocol concurrently to receiving thefirst plurality of bitrate streams, and transmits the second pluralityof bitrate streams to the satellite for distribution to one or moredownlink servers for concurrent distribution of the first plurality ofbitrate streams and the second plurality of bitrate streams on theInternet.
 13. The portable system of claim 12, wherein the firstplurality of bitrate streams invoke a first adaptive bitrate streamingprotocol, and the second plurality of bitrate streams invoke a secondadaptive bitrate streaming protocol, and the portable system furthercomprises a downlink server that concurrently (i) downloads the firstplurality of bitrate streams of the event and serve the first pluralityof bitrate streams to a first plurality of client devices using thefirst adaptive bitrate streaming protocol and (ii) downloads the secondplurality of bitrate streams of the event and serves the secondplurality of bitrate streams to a second plurality of client devicesusing the second adaptive bitrate streaming protocol.
 14. The portablesystem of claim 12, wherein the downlink server further serves the firstplurality of bitrate streams and the second plurality of bitrate streamsusing HTML5.
 15. The portable system of claim 12, wherein the satelliteuplink router transmits the first plurality of bitrate streams and thesecond plurality of bitrate streams to the satellite using a TCP or UDPprotocol.
 16. The portable system of claims 12, wherein the first andsecond audio codec is the same.
 17. A method for distributing anaudio/visual feed of an event, the method comprising: mixing together atleast (i) a first ambient audio signal from a first ambient microphonemonitoring the event, (ii) a second ambient audio signal from a secondambient microphone monitoring the event, and (iii) a sound board feedfrom a public address system associated with the event, thereby forminga mixed audio signal; receiving a respective video input signal at eachrespective video input in one or more video inputs at a video board froma corresponding camera one or more video cameras, wherein the one ormore video cameras are positioned to record the event; selecting a videoinput signal received by a video input in the one or more video inputsas a video output from the video board; receiving the mixed audio signalat an audio input of a recorder; receiving the video output from thevideo board at a video input of the recorder; combining, at therecorder, the mixed audio signal with the video output thereby producingan audio/visual signal formatted as a composite serial digital interfacesignal; receiving the composite serial digital interface signal at anencoder; encoding, at the encoder, the composite serial digitalinterface signal using (i) a first video codec at each of a plurality ofbitrates and (ii) a first audio codec, thereby forming a first pluralityof bitrate streams, each respective bitrate stream in the firstplurality of bitrate streams comprising the video portion of thecomposite serial digital interface signal encoded at a correspondingbitrate in the first plurality of bitrates by the first video codec;receiving the first plurality of bitrate streams at a satellite uplinkrouter using an HTTP protocol; and transmitting, using the satelliteuplink router, the first plurality of bitrate streams to a satellite fordistribution to one or more downlink servers for distribution on theInternet.
 18. The method of claim 17, the method further comprising:compressing the first ambient audio signal from the first pre-amplifierin accordance with one or more compression parameters prior to themixing, and compressing the second ambient audio signal from the secondpre-amplifier in accordance with one or more compression parametersprior to the mixing.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or morecompression parameters is a plurality of parameters comprising athreshold, a compression ratio, an attack time, and a release time. 20.The method of claim 17, wherein the first plurality of bitrate streamsinvoke adaptive bitrate streaming, and the method further comprises:downloading the first plurality of bitrate streams of the event with adownlink server that serve the first plurality of bitrate streams to afirst plurality of client devices using a first adaptive bitratestreaming protocol.
 21. The method of claim 17 wherein the encodingfurther encodes the composite serial digital interface signal using (i)a second video codec at each of a second plurality of bitrates and (ii)a second audio codec, thereby forming a second plurality of bitratestreams, each respective bitrate stream in the second plurality ofbitrate streams comprising the video portion of the composite serialdigital interface signal encoded at a corresponding bitrate in thesecond plurality of bitrates by the second video code, the secondplurality of bitrate streams is received at the satellite uplink routerusing an HTTP protocol concurrent to when the first plurality of bitratestreams is received, and the second plurality of bitrate streams istransmitted, using the satellite uplink router, to the satellite fordistribution to one or more downlink servers for concurrent distributionof the first plurality of bitrate streams and the second plurality ofbitrate streams on the Internet.
 22. The method of claim 22, wherein thefirst plurality of bitrate streams invoke a first adaptive bitratestreaming protocol and the second plurality of bitrate streams invoke asecond adaptive bitrate streaming protocol, the method furthercomprising: concurrently (i) downloading the first plurality of bitratestreams of the event and serving the first plurality of bitrate streamsto a first plurality of client devices using the first adaptive bitratestreaming protocol and (ii) downloading the second plurality of bitratestreams of the event and serving the second plurality of bitrate streamsto a second plurality of client devices using the second adaptivebitrate streaming protocol.
 23. The portable system of claim 1, whereinthe one or more video cameras is a plurality of video cameras.
 24. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the one or more video cameras is a pluralityof video cameras.